Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Gold is Money and Ukraines Fiscal Woes

With each passing day, the Ukrainian government's financial condition becomes more dire. Ukrainian officials have said that they need $35 billion over the next two years or they are in deep trouble. They'll end up defaulting on some of the $136 billion in debt they currently hold, an event that could end up sending shock waves through emerging markets. But after Wednesday, it now looks like Ukraine could get up to $30 billion from the IMF, EU, and US collectively, but this money comes with conditions. Erin takes a look at some possibilities.

Our guest today is James Turk, co-founder and director of GoldMoney.com, and we talk about gold, gold, gold. Turk explains that gold has been used as money for five thousand years, and he argues that it's much better than fiat currency. In fact he thinks that people are losing confidence in paper money because the super-rich are moving out of money and buying up tangible assets. He further argues that gold allows you to avoid the risks of political manipulation or economic warfare.

After the break, Turk talks about the advantage gold has over fiat currency. He also explains why he is bullish on silver right now, but gives reasons why it is less desirable than gold. What about paper gold and paper silver? Watch to get Turk's view on these investments. In the final part of our interview, Turk explains why he is concerned with hyperinflation while many people talk about deflation.

In today's Big Deal, Edward Harrison and Erin chat about how airline companies are revamping their frequent flier programs based on ticket price, not miles traveled. Ed gives the details of the changes, the logic behind them, and discusses why companies are making these changes now.